In 2020, following years of political debate, the Norwegian parliament passed legislation that eased restrictions on assisted reproductive technologies, including egg donation. This article examines the implications of this legislative shift in a country that had previously been characterised by highly restrictive policies on assisted reproductive technologies. The transition from a restrictive to a more permissive regulatory framework offers a unique opportunity to explore both continuity and change in cultural norms surrounding reproduction, gender, family and kinship. To investigate these dynamics, we conducted interviews with 20 women of reproductive age who were potentially eligible to donate eggs. Our aim was to explore the cultural values shaping their reflections on egg donation. Whilst political and media discourse has largely emphasised the benefits for recipients of donated eggs, feminist scholarship has drawn attention to the experiences and motivations of donors. This study contributes to the field by focusing on women who have no direct experience with egg donation and no particular expertise or personal investment in the topic. By doing so, we shed light on how broader cultural values inform individual‐level negotiations and meaning‐making around reproductive technologies. Situated within the context of a Nordic welfare state—where ideals such as social equality, gender equality and universal access to welfare services are deeply embedded—we find that the women’s attitudes towards egg donation reflect core Norwegian cultural values. At the same time, these attitudes reveal underlying tensions between competing values, suggesting potential for normative change. The decision to donate eggs emerges as a complex and ambivalent one, particularly in relation to the biological and social implications of having a genetic connection to a child born through donation.
Context and background:
Many governments in developing countries have embarked on irrigation projects. However, concerns on the effectiveness of the current Land Acquisition Frameworks (LAFs) remain evidenced by widespread displacement of Project Affected Peoples(PAPs) without adequate compensation, resulting in social unrest and prolonged legal battles. Displacement interventions as part of compensation are often not very clear and not fully supported by national legislation and polices that are clear. It is becoming difficult to implement some of irrigation projects due to land acquisition and resettlement issues. This will still be a challenge with rapid population increases which are exerting pressure on land and the human rights watches actively operating in this sector, unless policies and legislation are responsive to current demands.
Goal and objectives:
The paper examines the landscape of LAFs and its inclusion or exclusion of resettlement provisions looking at how enabling the current frameworks are. These issues derail progress if ignored. The study is therefore very relevant to identifying bottlenecks in current frameworks and to generating insights for the development of all-encompassing/holistic and responsive land acquisition and resettlement frameworks. This would promote better livelihood of PAPs, fairness and justice. PAPs would easily accept and own projects.
Methodology:
Using mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Secondary data is used from to examine land acquisition framework documents from all SADC countries, selected irrigation project documents, national land policy documents and other donor project reports.
Findings:
Results show that land acquisition is fairly regulated in SADC countries with all countries having Land Acquisition Acts or laws. However, resettlement processes often lack transparency and accountability, leading to grievances among affected communities. Many resettlement programs fail to adequately compensate displaced individuals or provide them with viable alternatives for livelihoods, exacerbating socio-economic disparities and hindering sustainable development goals. There is need to address these inadequacies if land acquisition and resettlement of PAPs will minimize associated trauma.
This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the juvenile legislation of the Russian Federation and South Korea. The article examines the specifics of regulating the protection of the rights of minors, approaches to solving problems of family problems and methods of social support for children and families. The research is aimed at identifying similarities and differences in approaches to the protection of children's rights, as well as determining the prospects for the development of the domestic child protection system in the light of international experience. The paper also highlights the features of the juvenile justice system that regulates the legal status of juvenile convicts in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. The existing limitations and advantages of both systems are analyzed, the legal statuses of convicts are compared, and the prospects and directions for the further development of juvenile justice in Russia are studied.
Methods. The following methods of scientific knowledge served as the methodological basis of the analysis:
Historical method: the study of the historical context of the formation of juvenile legislation in Russia and South Korea.
Document analysis: a study of legislative acts, international treaties, court decisions, and expert publications.
The study is conducted using the method of comparative analysis of the Russian and South Korean experience, since both countries are at the stage of active modernization of their legislation, striving to integrate the best international practices and at the same time preserve their national identity. The scientific novelty of the study is an attempt to identify key points of contact and fundamental differences between the systems of the two countries, which makes it possible to propose realistic steps to bring positions closer and deepen mutual understanding.
The study on the comparison of the juvenile system in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea is highly practical for the following reasons:
The main aspects of practical significance:
Analysis of international experience
It is important for Russian specialists to study successful international practices and implement positive elements in the domestic judicial system. The Republic of Korea is known for its progressive methods of preventing and correcting deviant behavior among minors, such as rehabilitation centers and specialized courts.
Improving the effectiveness of juvenile justice
Studying the features of the Korean system will help Russian authorities to improve the efficiency of working with juvenile offenders, reduce the level of recidivism, and promote successful re-socialization of young people.
Improving Russian legislation
The identified shortcomings and positive aspects of both systems will allow for the necessary amendments to Russian legislation aimed at
Results. Based on the results of the analysis, the following list of possible areas for improving the Russian juvenile justice system is proposed:
- improving the material and technical base of correctional institutions, ensuring decent conditions of detention and high-quality medical care.
- development of a network of specialized medical and psychological centers for the diagnosis and treatment of juvenile convicts.
- Strengthening the system of social adaptation and vocational rehabilitation by expanding employment programs and educational courses.
- The implementation of these measures can improve the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system, reduce the number of recidivism and ensure respect for the rights of juvenile convicts.
Russian legislation remains fragmented, there is a shortage of budget funds for rehabilitation programs, a low level of material equipment in correctional institutions, and poor coordination of efforts between judicial authorities and social services. The South Korean model appears to be more optimal and rational in terms of social protection and reducing the number of recidivism among juvenile convicts.
EDN: DOMUIU
Intelligent agents powered by large language models (LLMs) have recently demonstrated impressive capabilities and gained increasing popularity on social media platforms. While LLM agents are reshaping the ecology of social media, there exists a current gap in conducting a comprehensive evaluation of their ability to comprehend media content, understand user behaviors, and make intricate decisions. To address this challenge, we introduce SoMe, a pioneering benchmark designed to evaluate social media agents equipped with various agent tools for accessing and analyzing social media data. SoMe comprises a diverse collection of 8 social media agent tasks, 9,164,284 posts, 6,591 user profiles, and 25,686 reports from various social media platforms and external websites, with 17,869 meticulously annotated task queries. Compared with the existing datasets and benchmarks for social media tasks, SoMe is the first to provide a versatile and realistic platform for LLM-based social media agents to handle diverse social media tasks. By extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis, we provide the first overview insight into the performance of mainstream agentic LLMs in realistic social media environments and identify several limitations. Our evaluation reveals that both the current closed-source and open-source LLMs cannot handle social media agent tasks satisfactorily. SoMe provides a challenging yet meaningful testbed for future social media agents. Our code and data are available at https://github.com/LivXue/SoMe
The explosive growth of social media has not only revolutionized communication but also brought challenges such as political polarization, misinformation, hate speech, and echo chambers. This dissertation employs computational social science techniques to investigate these issues, understand the social dynamics driving negative online behaviors, and propose data-driven solutions for healthier digital interactions. I begin by introducing a scalable social network representation learning method that integrates user-generated content with social connections to create unified user embeddings, enabling accurate prediction and visualization of user attributes, communities, and behavioral propensities. Using this tool, I explore three interrelated problems: 1) COVID-19 discourse on Twitter, revealing polarization and asymmetric political echo chambers; 2) online hate speech, suggesting the pursuit of social approval motivates toxic behavior; and 3) moral underpinnings of COVID-19 discussions, uncovering patterns of moral homophily and echo chambers, while also indicating moral diversity and plurality can improve message reach and acceptance across ideological divides. These findings contribute to the advancement of computational social science and provide a foundation for understanding human behavior through the lens of social interactions and network homophily.
Temitope Seun Omotayo, Jonathan Ross, Abiodun Oyetunji
et al.
Construction projects are fraught with the challenges of cost overruns, schedule deviations, and not meeting expectations. Underlying these failures are factors related to complexity, stakeholder management, and external social dynamics. The literature review highlighted research gaps, leading to conceptualizing the research aim. The study explored the roles of project complexity, stakeholder engagement, and social dynamics in the UK construction project management sector. A survey research strategy combining qualitative interview questions was employed to extract data from project professionals across the UK. Convenience sampling resulted in a high response rate from seventy-three (73) participants across the UK. Four main themes emerged: project complexity and lessons learned; stakeholder engagement and social climate; project failures and conflicts; and project success. System thinking causal loop diagramming was applied in amalgamating implications drawn from the findings. The implications noted that challenges in governance, regulation, and legislation, coupled with stringent cost and schedule targets, added to project complexity, effective stakeholder engagement, clear communication, and understanding of social contexts were crucial for project success where complexities of stakeholders and social dynamics proved difficult.
History of scholarship and learning. The humanities, Social Sciences
There is increased interest in legislation that shields some forms of expression not only from the legislature but also from sanctions by powerful private institutions such as social media companies, professional associations, and employers. The Religious Discrimination Bill 2022 (Cth), if passed, would have prohibited ‘qualifying bodies’ from implementing conduct rules that restrict ‘statements of belief’ in their effects. Other provisions of the Bill implicitly provided some protection for ‘religious speech’ within the broader ambit of ‘religious belief or activity’. Using the Religious Discrimination Bill as an example, this paper examines laws that restrict private censure of speech with respect to the implied freedom of political communication. It is argued that laws that limit private censorship of political speech may place a burden upon political communication if they are not constructed in a manner that is ‘viewpoint neutral’. Such laws can thus only be valid if the criteria of ‘compatibility’ and ‘proportionality’ are met (as established in Lange and its progeny). The power imbalance between individuals and large private institutions may warrant limits on private censorship. However, such limits are best framed so as not to discriminate between viewpoints. Laws that protect the expression of particular ideas, such as those based in religious doctrine, must demonstrate a legitimate reason for differential treatment compared to other foundational beliefs.
Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence, Religion (General)
Social learning, a fundamental process through which individuals shape their beliefs and perspectives via observation and interaction with others, is critical for the development of our society and the functioning of social governance. Prior works on social learning usually assume that the initial beliefs are given and focus on the update rule. With the recent proliferation of online social networks, there is an avalanche amount of information, which may significantly influence users' initial beliefs. In this paper, we use the rational inattention theory to model how agents acquire information to form initial beliefs and assess its influence on their adjustments in beliefs. Furthermore, we analyze the dynamic evolution of belief distribution among agents. Simulations and social experiments are conducted to validate our proposed model and analyze the impact of model parameters on belief dynamics.
Social media has emerged as a valuable resource for disaster management, revolutionizing the way emergency response and recovery efforts are conducted during natural disasters. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of social media analytics for disaster management. The abstract begins by highlighting the increasing prevalence of natural disasters and the need for effective strategies to mitigate their impact. It then emphasizes the growing influence of social media in disaster situations, discussing its role in disaster detection, situational awareness, and emergency communication. The abstract explores the challenges and opportunities associated with leveraging social media data for disaster management purposes. It examines methodologies and techniques used in social media analytics, including data collection, preprocessing, and analysis, with a focus on data mining and machine learning approaches. The abstract also presents a thorough examination of case studies and best practices that demonstrate the successful application of social media analytics in disaster response and recovery. Ethical considerations and privacy concerns related to the use of social media data in disaster scenarios are addressed. The abstract concludes by identifying future research directions and potential advancements in social media analytics for disaster management. The review paper aims to provide practitioners and researchers with a comprehensive understanding of the current state of social media analytics in disaster management, while highlighting the need for continued research and innovation in this field.
Aditya Surve, Archit Rathod, Mokshit Surana
et al.
Multiagent social network simulations are an avenue that can bridge the communication gap between the public and private platforms in order to develop solutions to a complex array of issues relating to online safety. While there are significant challenges relating to the scale of multiagent simulations, efficient learning from observational and interventional data to accurately model micro and macro-level emergent effects, there are equally promising opportunities not least with the advent of large language models that provide an expressive approximation of user behavior. In this position paper, we review prior art relating to social network simulation, highlighting challenges and opportunities for future work exploring multiagent security using agent-based models of social networks
Stefano Cresci, Kai-Cheng Yang, Angelo Spognardi
et al.
Research on social bots aims at advancing knowledge and providing solutions to one of the most debated forms of online manipulation. Yet, social bot research is plagued by widespread biases, hyped results, and misconceptions that set the stage for ambiguities, unrealistic expectations, and seemingly irreconcilable findings. Overcoming such issues is instrumental towards ensuring reliable solutions and reaffirming the validity of the scientific method. Here, we discuss a broad set of consequential methodological and conceptual issues that affect current social bots research, illustrating each with examples drawn from recent studies. More importantly, we demystify common misconceptions, addressing fundamental points on how social bots research is discussed. Our analysis surfaces the need to discuss research about online disinformation and manipulation in a rigorous, unbiased, and responsible way. This article bolsters such effort by identifying and refuting common fallacious arguments used by both proponents and opponents of social bots research, as well as providing directions toward sound methodologies for future research.
We study the error-correction problem of the communication between two vertices in a social network. By applying the concepts of coding theory into the Social Network Analysis (SNA), we develop the code social network model, which can offer an efficient way to ensure the correctness of the message transmission within the social netwoks. The result of this study could apply in vary of social science studies.
The article discusses the features of the legal regulation of social security of mobilized citizens, citizens who voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and their family members in regions of Russia.Aim. To identify the effectiveness of new approaches to establish legal regulation of military personnel’s social security in partial mobilization condition.Task. To analyze the effectiveness, taking into account the criteria of regional legislators of the Russian Federation in establishing the right to social security of military personnel, which is provided in the form of lump-sum payments. To complete the study, to assess the level of social security guarantees for military personnel in the Russian Federation in comparison with the social guarantees provided in the countries that are part of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).Methods. In this study, the tasks were solved by the author with the use of general scientific methods (comparative, formal, logical) and legal research methods (comparative legal statistical data).Results. In the course of the study, the differentiation of the legal regulation of social security of mobilized citizens, citizens who voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and their family members, provided in cash, was conducted. In view of the equal social risk in which both categories of military personnel have the right to receive a lump sum payment, without additional grounds taken into account by the regions. This approach seems fair.Conclusions. The legislator’s reaction after the announcement of partial mobilization was necessary and timely, the underlying causes and rapid response to the emerging social risks should also be considered when selecting criteria. In view of the fulfillment of new tasks for the state, the criteria used in establishing the legal regulation of social security in the form of cash payments should be directly related to the likelihood of social risk for both categories of military personnel and their family members.
With "Reform of the Third Sector" it indicates the set of rules that has rearranged the non-profit and social enterprise. To date, the legislative intervention has not yet been completed, as the acts foreseen by the legislative decrees implementing the delegated law n.106 of 2016 are being implemented.
Each institution will have to evaluate whether or not to register in the National Register of Third Sector entities, as well as from the specific section of the same in which it will be placed. An assessment that will strongly affect the purposes of each individual subject and substantially on the everyday organization and on the way of understanding and making non-profit.
The change will be above all cultural, social, participatory and democratic, in associative practices and, in governance.
This contribution, starting from a regulatory analysis, aims to assess the fiscal implications that non-profit entities will have to face in the coming months, weighing consciously the approach to the new legislation.
For those who will not be part of the Third Sector Entities and who will not apply the forecasts contained in Legislative Decree No. 117/2017, it is necessary to understand what will be, to reform definitively in force, the fiscal provisions concretely applicable. More in detail you will see how the same D.Lgs. 117/2017 brings significant changes for those who will remain out of the reform.
Military actions on the territory of our state negatively affect the functioning and development of all business entities and cause devastating destruction to the economy. At the same time, the work of Ukrainian businesses during the war is a particularly important source of filling the state budget and creating jobs. Therefore, the development and implementation of a well-founded and effective state policy of supporting the development of business in order to create favorable conditions for its organization and management are currently particularly relevant for Ukraine. Taking into account the above, the article is devoted to the study of programs of state support and stimulation of the development of entrepreneurship adopted by the government in the conditions of war. On the basis of the conducted research, it is substantiated that state support should be understood as state regulation of business activity, which involves, first of all, the conscious formation by state structures of appropriate direct and indirect business support tools, in particular, the creation of incentives, the use of material, financial and other resources involved for its subjects. The priority of state regulation and support of entrepreneurship in war conditions cauces the necessity of the transition from direct administrative assistance to the formation of a favorable economic and social environment for the improvement of mechanisms and tools for stimulating the development of business entities. The article examines changes in the legislation that relate to the policy of taxation of business entities in a special period, in particular, regarding the calculation and payment of a single tax and a single social contribution. The limits and rules of work in the field of tax payment for individual entrepreneurs during martial law are substantiated. It is determined that such changes will provide an opportunity for business entities to save money on paying taxes and invest it in further economic activity and, thus, support and develop it. The changes related to inspections, fines and penalties during martial law were analyzed and, on this basis, it was determined which inspections were really canceled and which could be carried out. The conditions of the business relocation program introduced by the government and the changes made to the «Affordable loans 5–9%» program were also analyzed. The conducted research shows that currently, the Ukrainian Government has adopted a number of decisions that provide for temporary relaxation and support for business during martial law. At the same time, the shortcomings and difficulties faced by economic entities in the process of functioning indicate the need to simultaneously develop both the state business support system and the initiative of entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises to combine efforts in the field of state financial activity. It is substantiated that the issue of improving the system of informational and advisory state support for business in order to stimulate its development is urgent.
This study examines how active participation, financial commitment, and passive participation in the leading social live-streaming service, Twitch.tv, relate to individuals' psychological well-being. The three dimensions of social capital-structural, relational, and cognitive-as well as parasocial relationship are explored as mediators. Cross-sectional survey data from 396 respondents was analyzed by comparing two fully saturated structural equation models. Findings indicate actively participating in a favorite streamers' Chat is positively associated with increased well-being. Structural social capital, or having more social interaction ties, positively mediates the relationship between active participation and well-being, as well as financial commitment and well-being. Greater cognitive social capital, or shared values and goals with a favorite streamer, is related to decreased well-being. Parasocial relationship does not significantly mediate the relationship between use and well-being. Our results demonstrate the importance of tangible social ties over the perceived relationships or identification with a favorite streamer.
In this study, we consider users' online communication rhythms (online social rhythms) as coupled oscillators in a complex social network. Users' rhythms may be entrained onto those of their friends, and macro-scale pattern of such rhythms can emerge. We investigated the entrainment in online social rhythms and long-range correlations of the rhythms using an avatar communication dataset. We indicated entrainment in online social rhythms to emerge if the strength of a new connection reaches a threshold. This entrainment spread via densely-connected clusters. Consequently, long-range correlations of online social rhythms extended to about 36% of the network, although offline social life naturally restricts online social rhythms. This research supports an understanding of human social dynamics in terms of systems of coupled oscillators.
The friendship paradox implies that a person will, on average, have fewer friends than their friends do. Prior work has shown how the friendship paradox can lead to perception biases regarding behaviors that correlate with the number of friends: for example, people tend to perceive their friends as being more socially engaged than they are. Here, we investigate the consequences of this type of social comparison in the conceptual setting of content creation ("sharing") in an online social network. Suppose people compare the amount of feedback that their content receives to the amount of feedback that their friends' content receives, and suppose they modify their sharing behavior as a result of that comparison. How does that impact overall sharing on the social network over time? We run simulations over model-generated synthetic networks, assuming initially uniform sharing and feedback rates. Thus, people's initial modifications of their sharing behavior in response to social comparisons are entirely driven by the friendship paradox. These modifications induce inhomogeneities in sharing rates that can further alter perception biases. If people's responses to social comparisons are monotonic (i.e., the larger the disparity, the larger the modification in sharing behavior), our simulations suggest that overall sharing in the network gradually declines. Meanwhile, convex responses can sustain or grow overall sharing in the network. We focus entirely on synthetic graphs in the present work and have not yet extended our simulations to real-world network topologies. Nevertheless, we do discuss practical implications, such as how interventions can be tailored to sustain long-term sharing, even in the presence of adverse social-comparison effects.
We live in a virtual world where actual lifestyles are replicated. The growing reliance on the use of social media networks worldwide has resulted in great concern for information security. One of the factors popularizing the social media platforms is how they connect people worldwide to interact, share content, and engage in mutual interactions of common interest that cut across geographical boundaries. Behind all these incredible gains are digital crime equivalence that threatens the physical socialization. Criminal-minded elements and hackers are exploiting Social Media Platforms (SMP) for many nefarious activities to harm others. As detection tools are developed to control these crimes, hackers' tactics and techniques are constantly evolving. Hackers are constantly developing new attacking tools and hacking strategies to gain malicious access to systems and attack social media network thereby making it difficult for security administrators and organizations to develop and implement the proper policies and procedures necessary to prevent the hackers' attacks. The increase in cyber-attacks on the social media platforms calls for urgent and more intelligent security measures to enhance the effectiveness of social media platforms. This paper explores the mode and tactics of hackers' mode of attacks on social media and ways of preventing their activities against users to ensure secure social cyberspace and enhance virtual socialization. Social media platforms are briefly categorized, the various types of attacks are also highlighted with current state-of-the-art preventive mechanisms to overcome the attacks as proposed in research works, finally, social media intrusion detection mechanism is suggested as a second line of defense to combat cybercrime on social media networks
This paper’s aim is to further current thinking around young men’s perceptions and understanding of violence, and the use of boxing as a vehicle in the prevention of repeat victimization. The focus is on the use of bodily or physical capital, and the ways in which men draw upon this resource to ward off attacks to identity and psyches, especially those perceived as disrespectful. It will draw on data from The Criminology of Boxing, Violence and Desistance (Jump 2020), and present overarching ideas from Tyrone, a psychosocial case study highlighting the underpinning theory and its development. This paper disrupts common discourses that argue that boxing is a panacea for all violence, and thus presents more subjective nuanced accounts of men’s lives in the gym, and the streets. In using the term “physical capital”, I employ Wacquant’s (1995) theory, and suggest that boxers not only use their body as a “form of capital” (p. 65), but that the physical capital accrued through the corporeal praxis of boxing, is actually a way to disavow prior victimization, and invest in the prevention of repeated traumatic scenarios.